A weekend of rain and wind is the stuff of nightmares for any outdoor event organiser, but according to Tara Toomey from Seasons of New England, it can also create a bit of magic.
The popular annual Seasons of New England Expo was held in Uralla over the weekend with many braving conditions to ensure the weather didn’t rain on their parade.
“Look, we knew the forecast was bleak; we just didn’t realise quite how bad it was going to be,” said Ms Toomey.
“We were expecting about 20-30mm of rain – which is certainly wetter than we would have liked – and wind gusts of around the 30km an hour range. What we ended up with on the Saturday was considerably more than what was forecast.”
When asked if a reschedule ever crossed her mind, Ms Toomey said, “If we were expecting cyclonic winds, then yes, safety concerns would say we have to cancel, but the reality is that most of our attendees come from further than the New England region – people from Sydney and Brisbane have booked accommodation specifically to come to Seasons, and if we reschedule, they don’t come back.”
Council was also adamant that the show would go on.
“Uralla Shire Council have always been incredibly supportive of this event, and I have to give special mention to the Outdoor Team because they have been incredible,” said Ms Toomey.
“I was on the phone with them before the expo asking if we should go ahead, and they said absolutely not; the expo has to happen.”
The heavy rain and high traffic to the oval have undoubtedly left a mark, but the Council and Ms Toomey are doing their best to remediate the grounds.
“There wasn’t much we could do Saturday. Saturday night, we were out there until 10 pm putting down mulch and straw to try and reduce the damage. It’s always been my aim to leave things in a better condition than we found it, but this year, that just wasn’t possible. Once again, though, Council have been so incredibly helpful with everything, so I’m very appreciative of their support.”
Despite the rain and wind, Ms Toomey says the event was still a huge success.
“Out of the 105 stallholders we had booked for the weekend, we still had 95 turn up despite the weather – there were a few that couldn’t make it due to the nature of their products,” said Ms Toomey.
“As a stallholder myself, I can definitely say that the weather brought its challenges. Anything to do with cardboard or paper was extremely problematic, but we all adapted.”
“Across the whole weekend, both in the lead-up and afterwards, I’ve kept communicating with the stallholders, and the feedback was always that they wanted it to go ahead.”
“It was still a really strong trading weekend. We had around 3000 people through each day, which is what it’s all about – creating interest and income for our wonderful local businesses.”
Some of the stories of community spirit that have emerged show sunshine in the rain. Attendees and stallholders alike helped each other and generally made the most of the weekend.
“I’ll acknowledge that the wind when it gusted up in the afternoon was without a doubt an issue, but everyone helped each other out, and there was some real magic there, too – especially seeing the kids playing in the mud and the community coming together,” said Ms Toomey.
When asked if plans for next year would incorporate an indoor venue, Ms Toomey said no.
“We’ve been asked before if we’d consider going to one of the bigger indoor venues in another town, and my answer is always no because it’s not what Seasons is about.”
“It’s so special having it a small town and bringing people from other areas in to experience what Uralla has to offer. If we moved it somewhere bigger, it would lose that.”
“The two-day format was also a huge success, so we’ll be working towards that again for 2026.”